I mentioned in my last post that I had finally gotten round to making own homemade granola.
In all my excitement I forgot to post a picture of my version, you can split it into small jars like I did above for on the go on breakfast desert or snack. I also made large jar worth. I do have a plastic container that’s specially made for breakfast cereal. I am sure some of you know the one I am talking about, as I am not paid by them I refuse to give them free advertisement. You can use whatever you like I just prefer this particular brand because it’s made especially for ‘split’ breakfast. Clue; it’s a popular plastic brand made in New Zealand I think I have given it away already, lol.

One of my favourite Sunday Breakfast is Overnight Baked French Toast. Whenever I have got left over bread I can’t wait to make this yummy recipe. So I told myself why not share I make it. It’s super easy l promise.

You can add your favourite ingredients as this recipe is so versatile.

This is left over homade seeded that I tore into bite sizes.

I whisked all the ingredients and poured into the pan then topped with fruits, oats which I sprinkled on to finish.

It will look a bit wet out of the oven (depending on the type of bread) but give it about 10 minutes to cool before serving. As the bread I used was wholemeal it took longer to bake, as it is wholemeal flour is heavier than white flour.

This is how I served mine – sliced plums and peaches topped with natural yogurt, sunflower seeds and agave. But you serve yours with maple syrup, honey or sprinkle brown sugar with chocolate chips. The list is endless, try yourself you deserve it.

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OVEN BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients

Day old or stale bread – torn into pieces

Cinnamon

Sugar or sweetner if preferred.

Method

Preheat 350c, 180f or gas mark 4. Grease ovenproof dish with oil or butter, add torn bread. Whisk the remaining ingredients and pour over the bread, cover in a cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate overnight.

The following morning, remove the cling film and bake in the oven for 20-35 minutes, depending on the kind of bread you use. Serve with yogurt poured on toast, finish by drizzling with honey or maple syrup, chopped nuts or flaked almonds, if liked.

Since writing my ebook I have decided to continue experimenting and tweaking recipes. I had some Strawberries that I had frozen for future use.

I put together as many ingredients as I could find but still low in fat. Regular muffins use oil or butter so the replacement was Greek yogurt, instead of refined sugar I used honey, cacoa nibs instead of chocolate chips.

I did the usual mixing the dry ingredients in the bowl first, made a well adding beaten eggs followed by the remaining ingredients. Mixed the ingredients with a wooden spoon, (you can use a spatula ) until combined. The tip is not to over mix so you don’t end up with rubbery muffins.

Pour the mixture into muffin tins, baked for 20 minutes.

I forgot to mention that I added grated orange zest at the last minute, squeezing the juice of the orange into the mixture as well. The muffins turned really well, I had one almost straight away and it was delicious. I will be freezing the remaining batch.

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Gluten Free Strawberry Orange Coconut muffins

1 cup plain (all purpose) flour – gluten free or wholemeal

1 cup Spelt flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 orange zest

2 eggs beaten

1/4 cup honey

1 cup strawberries

Juice of 1 orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients, make a well in the centre.

Add the wet ingredients into the bowl, combine all the ingredients (expect strawberries and cacao nibs) but don’t overmix or the muffins will come out rubbery, then fold in strawberries gently.

Pour the mixture into the muffin tin, top with the cacoa nibs.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on the rack for 10 minutes and eat straight away or store in the fridge for a week or freezer for 2 months.

Reheat the muffins (if not eating on the day you made them) for 2-3 minutes. If taken out of the freezer allow to thaw thoroughly before reheating.

In a heated fan, I added half a teaspoon of oil, adding through vegetables and the Chorizo. I let it cook for 2 minutes, tuning it once to continue cooking until it was sautéed.

Finally I poured the beaten eggs with chopped cheese. I cooked for 2 minutes then carefully turned it over with a spatula and continued cooking the cheese melted into omelette.

And there you have it a simple omelette loaded with vitamins and protein served on a bed of salad, I enjoyed every bite.

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KaleandChorizoOmelette

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Rapeseed (canola) oil

Kale – chopped

Mushrooms – chopped

Tomatoes – chopped

Spring (green) onions

2 eggs -beaten

Cheddar cheese – chopped or grated

Milk of your choice

Salt and Black pepper for seasoning

Method

In a heated pan, add oil fry the vegetables and chorizo for 2-3 minutes until sautéed. Beat the eggs with 2 teaspoons of milk, add salt and pepper, combine and pour into to the pan, with the cheese. Allow to cook on medium heat for 3 minutes, turn over very carefully using a spatula. Cook on the other side for 2 minutes, slide on to a plate and serve with salad for a low carb lunch. Or crusty bread if you want a more wholesome lunch.

I made the decision to give up Macdonald’s and junk food 10 years ago. Since then I have been making my own burger for good, I say that because I only used to do it ocassionally. Cut a long story, I love making my own burgers, when I tell people they are usually surprised. This is usually because they think it’s a lengthy process and a waste of time, but when I tell them what it entails they change their minds. Last year, I actually made mini burgers at the first birthday party of a friend’s daughter, whilst the kids were playing party games. It went down a storm, some of the mothers were asking for the recipe before they left.

I have adapted the recipe over the years as I got healthier, the popular version is with bread crumbs, but for this recipe I have used couscous for a gluten free version. However, do feel feel to go down the breadcrumbs route if you prefer.

I placed all the ingredients in my wooden bowl, ok I admit I was multi tasking as all the other bowls were used up for proving bread. Back to the recipe, the onion was chopped, all the ingredients were mixed with my fingers and that was it. By the way you can add other spices into the mixture, eg; curry but make sure you are wearing gloves as you don’t want it going into your eyes if you accidently rub them, neither do you want to end up with stained hands.

Once all the ingredients are combined, roll the mixture into balls. There, you have just made your first burger. It’s that simple, continue until you have used up the mixture.

I wrapped each burger individually in cling (plastic wrap) film. As I had made a batch, I froze them. However, if you want to eatyours straight away, place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to ‘set’. Or in a freezer for about 15 minutes, like I did at my friend’s party.

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RECIPE

HOMEMADE BEEF BURGERS

Ingredients

500g Minced (Ground) beef or turkey, pork or chicken

1 Red or regular onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh herbs of choice – mixed, or parsley.

Cooked couscous, cooled or fresh breadcrumbs if preferred

Dash of ground black pepper

Method

In a bowl, add the ingredients until incorporated into the mince beef. Take a handful and roll into small to medium balls. I made 9 burgers out of mine. Cut pieces of Cling (plastic wrap) and wrap each burger indiviudally. Put in a fridge for 30 minutes or an hour to ‘form’, freeze the left over wrapped burgers in a large freezer bag, you don’t want it to split and come into direct contact with other foods. To cook burgers from frozen, allow to thaw overnight as this makes it easier to cook.

Grill the burgers for 3 minutes, flip to the other side till it is thoroughly cooked and the juices are running, ensure the burgers are cooked through. Enjoy with wholemeal burger buns, pitta bread or as a naked burger with salad or low fat vegetable chips – see my last post for ideas.

If using chips, parboil for 5-7 minutes in boiling water. Drain and place in a baking tray drizzle with olive oil and salt. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven temperature, mine was 250c.

I got carried away with my food shopping as usual. It was only when I unpacked that I realised I had bought so much vegetables. The question was what do I with all this excess, light bulb moment – chips.

So I choppe the vegetables into chunky chips and wedges, the result you can see below.

Swede, Carrot, Celeriac chips and Sweet Potato wedges, before ‘heading’ for the freezer. I have to admit I have tasted carrot chips I am just jumping on the bandwagon, it will be interesting to see if it lives up to the hype!